Strand of Deception

by Robin Caroll

  “I was a little alarmed to hear a man’s voice in my living room this morning until I realized it was yours.”

  Suddenly it felt very intimate to be alone with Maddie, in her house, before morning coffee. “I didn’t want to leave you alone last night. I mean, we shut the door to the mudroom, but it’s not a secure lock. And the security system, well, we—”

  “Thank you. I appreciate your staying. Sorry I was so zonked. Guess after the adrenaline crashed, so did I.” She smiled as if unsure of herself. “How about a cup of coffee?”

  “I’d love one.” Something normal that wasn’t intimate. He trailed her into the kitchen.

  “I called someone to replace the mudroom door this morning. I won’t go with glass this time. It’s not very secure. I’ve learned that the hard way.” She put coffee in the filter, poured a carafe of water into the unit, and pressed a button. “They’ll be here soon.”

  “You could always get a dog, you know.” He grinned.

  She burst out laughing, nearly dropping the cups she’d taken from the counter. “Well, there is that. Remington does love her dog. Although with my schedule . . .”

  Oh, yeah. “Speaking of Remington and Rafe . . .”

  She set the cups on the counter. “What about them? Cream or sugar?”

  “I like it black, thanks.” He wished he’d put on his shoes. Standing in the kitchen with her in their socks, waiting for the coffee to perk, still felt too intimate. “Rafe’s on his way.”

  “His way where?”

  “Here.”

  Her eyes widened. “How did—Darren.” She shook her head. “When?”

  “His plane landed about ten minutes ago.”

  “Great. He’ll be here any second.”

  “In Darren’s defense, he didn’t call Rafe.”

  “Oh, really?” The layers of anger were starting to form. “Rafe just decided out of the blue to visit today, and you, of all people, just happen to know this?”

  “No, Rafe called Darren to ask him to be his best man.”

  She turned her back to him and drummed her fingers on the counter beside the coffeepot. “And Darren just had to tell him about the break-in. I shouldn’t have called him last night. He never could keep a secret from Rafe.” She was well on her way into working herself into what his mother called a tizzy.

  “Hey.” He slowly moved up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. He leaned in, his chest almost touching her back, and put his mouth beside her ear. “I’m glad you called Darren because otherwise, I wouldn’t have known.”

  Maddie turned and gazed into his eyes. She laid a hand against his cheek. “I’m glad you came.” Her smile gentled his unease. She licked her lips.

  That undid him.

  Nick slowly lowered his head and grazed a soft kiss across her lips.

  “Hey, what’s going on here?”

  From the time Maddie had reached the age where she was allowed to date, her big brother had wreacked havoc on her love life.

  Rafe hadn’t lost his touch.

  Maddie pulled free from Nick and turned to face Rafe but kept her hand on Nick’s forearm. “Ever hear of knocking?”

  “Why isn’t your alarm on?” Rafe stormed to her and yanked her into his arms.

  He almost crushed her in a tight bear hug before loosening his grip on her. “What is it with my sisters getting into all kinds of trouble when I’m not around to keep an eye on them?” He circled his arms around her waist.

  She playfully slapped his bicep. “Hey, I carry again. Pulled it last night too.”

  Rafe’s eyes turned serious. “Tell me.”

  Nick cleared his throat. “Rafe.”

  Her brother stared at Nick for a long moment. While she couldn’t understand guy-ese, they had a long, silent conversation that she wasn’t privy to.

  Rafe released her. “Sir.”

  “Good to see you.”

  Rafe nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  Nick sighed and looked at her. She so wanted to kiss him, but Rafe would come unhinged if she did. He smiled so sweetly. “I need to get into the office. I’ll call you later.” He looked at Rafe again. “Come by the office and catch up later, if you feel like it.” The invitation had been delivered.

  “I’ll see you later.” The challenge had been accepted.

  Naked male ego exhausted her.

  She gave Nick a quick, friendly hug. “Thanks for staying last night, Nick. I appreciate it.”

  He left, the front door’s click shut echoing throughout the house.

  “He stayed the night? Here? With you? Alone?” Rafe’s temper simmered just below the surface.

  Maddie grabbed her coffee, handed Rafe a cup of the black java, and sat at the kitchen table. “He stayed on the couch.”

  “That’s no excuse.” Rafe reluctantly followed her to the table and sat.

  “Not that I owe you any explanation, which for the record I don’t because I’m a grown woman, but he did me a favor. I crashed after the adrenaline rush wore off. Purely exhausted. I couldn’t even stand up. He took me to my room and tucked me in—”

  She wagged a finger at Rafe’s expression and open mouth. “He tucked me in, fully clothed, and covered me with an extra blanket. He didn’t know the code to set the alarm. The interior door of the mudroom doesn’t have a lock. Nick didn’t feel like I’d be safe, so he stayed here and kept vigil so I could get some much-needed sleep.” She took a sip of her coffee. “Now, are you satisfied?”

  “Why couldn’t one of your friends come and stay with you?”

  She laughed. Such a guy. “Who? Eva? Oh, I can just see that, can’t you? She barely qualifies on the range every year at relicensing.”

  “Well . . . what about Darren?”

  “Who couldn’t bring Savannah out in the cold. And he’s a guy, in case you haven’t noticed.” She shook her head. “Besides, Nick is a friend.”

  “Yeah, it looked real friendly when I came in.”

  And here it was—the real source of her brother’s feathers being ruffled. “Don’t be cruel to a heart that’s true.” “Are you asking me the nature of my relationship with Nick?”

  “No.” He paused, staring into his cup. “I think I could figure that one out on my own, Mads.”

  “I really love you baby, cross my heart.” No fair, him using her childhood nickname. The one Dad had bestowed on her when she’d try to follow Rafe as a toddler and couldn’t keep her balance long enough. Rumor had it that she’d get so mad, she’d turn beet red in the face and scream. She thought the rumor had gotten drastically exaggerated over the years, but the nickname stuck. “Rafe . . .”

  “Don’t Rafe me. He’s my boss.”

  “Was your boss. He isn’t anymore.” She forced herself to use the tone she reserved for upset children in the church’s nursery.

  “He’s still a SAC, which is an agent’s supervisor, whether we work in his field office or not.”

  “So he’s off-limits for me to spend time with?”

  “He should be.”

  She gave a soft chuckle. “Then I should stop hanging out with Darren and Savannah too?”

  “They’re different.” Rafe set his cup on the table. “You don’t have that kind of friendship with Darren.”

  Now he was just making her mad. “What about you and Remington? If memory serves me correctly, she was a suspect in the murder case you were working. She wasn’t even honest about who she was. You probably shouldn’t have that kind of friendship with her, yet you’re engaged to her now.”

  “That’s diff—”

  “Or what about Riley and Hayden? Wasn’t he Remington’s best friend? He’s a police commissioner in another state. Riley probably shouldn’t have that kind of friendship with him, but she upped and move
d to Louisiana to be closer to him. From all appearances, they’ll probably be engaged before summer.”

  “Maddie, I’m not saying—”

  She fisted her hands on her hips. “Not saying what, Rafe? That unlike you and Riley, I’m not allowed to choose for myself who I want to spend time with? That you and Riley can date and fall in love and get a happily-ever-after, but I can’t? Because you think your former boss should be off-limits to me? Are you serious?”

  “I’m not saying that.” Rafe raised his voice and stood.

  She glared at him, her muscles clenching.

  “I’m not saying that at all.” His tone had gone down a notch.

  “Then what are you saying, Rafe?” She struggled to temper her breathing.

  “That . . .” He stabbed his fingers through his short, dark hair. “I don’t know what I’m saying. I’m sorry, Mads. I just reacted.”

  His apology erased her anger. She gave him a hug. “I know you were worried about me, and it was a shock to see me with Nick, but Rafe, you have to realize I’m a grown woman who can make my own choices of who I see. Okay?”

  He hugged her back. “I don’t have to like it, do I?”

  She chuckled. “No, but you do have to respect my choices.”

  “Okay.”

  Maddie let him go. “How about a fresh cup of coffee before I have to get ready for work?”

  He handed her his cup. “Thanks. Now, why don’t you tell me what happened last night with your break-in? And I understand you’ve had some threatening phone calls too?”

  Here they went again.

  Chapter Sixteen

  “I like to sing ballads the way Eddie Fisher

  does and the way Perry Como does. But the way

  I’m singing now is what makes the money.”

  Elvis Presley

  “This is Agent Zanca from the Knoxville office. I’m here in the Nashville TBI crime unit.” The woman’s voice was void of any emotions.

  Nick gripped the phone. “Yes?”

  “A full report is forthcoming, but I know you’re waiting on results.”

  “Yes?” Why didn’t Zanca just spit it out?

  “In regards to the DNA sample search in the Ford case, there isn’t a full match in CODIS.”

  Like when a pin is stuck in a balloon, all the air whooshed from Nick’s lungs. A dead end. The one area where if he’d gotten a hit, it would have been definitive. Enough for the DA to take to trial. Enough for a jury to convict.

  “Having said that, however, there was a potential match from the CODIS search.”

  “I thought you just said there wasn’t a match?”

  “There’s not a full match, correct, but there was a potential match that popped up.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  Zanca chuckled over the phone line. “I’m not sure I grasp it all myself. In layman’s terms, it’s possible your unknown source has a biological relative in CODIS.”

  Nick took a moment to process that. “So, if we know who is in CODIS, we look at their biological relatives and could possibly find the source of the DNA left at the crime scene?”

  “Basically, yes. But the CODIS operator here tells me she can’t just run these types of searches without following proper procedures. The tests have to be run through special software that’s not CODIS.”

  “So, how do we do that?”

  “According to the operator, the chief law-enforcement officer of the investigating law-enforcement agency joins with the district attorney to file a joint request to run the familial DNA test.”

  “So, Helm and the DA and I file this request and then we can search for the family member match?” Should be easy enough. They all needed a suspect in this case. Especially before the senator escalated his political maneuvering over his daughter’s murder.

  “The operator tells me the paperwork for the request is pretty complicated. She recommends you have one of the forensic scientists in your TBI unit help you and the DA. Otherwise, it could be kicked back and forth until accepted and that could take weeks.”

  “Thanks, Agent Zanca. I’ll get on this today. Will you be staying in Nashville?”

  She laughed. “Looks like I will. No problem since we’re billing your office anyway.” She chuckled harder, then cleared her throat. “Just let my SAC in Knoxville know I’m not out recording a country hit and planning to leave the bureau, would you?”

  “I will. Thank you. I’ll be in touch soon.” He hung up the phone. At last, something on the case was going his way.

  A knock rapped at his door.

  He looked up and into the cold stare of Rafe Baxter.

  Nick swallowed. “Come on in.”

  Rafe shut the door behind him and sat on the chair facing Nick’s desk.

  Nick waited, giving his former employee the time to work out what he wanted to say. The man had something on his mind, and rightfully so. Nick didn’t have any sisters so he couldn’t understand exactly what Rafe was going through, but if the feeling he’d had last night when Timmons had called him was even close to the protectiveness Rafe felt, Nick would sit here and take Rafe’s disapproval and reproach without argument.

  “I know Maddie’s a grown woman,” Rafe began. “And she has made it abundantly clear she can and will make her own decisions regarding her personal life.” He shifted, never breaking eye contact with Nick. “But she is also my sister and I’m bound to look out for her.”

  Nick waited.

  “I respect you, sir, and I appreciate you staying last night to ensure her protection.”

  Nick nodded.

  “But I don’t want to see my sister’s heart broken. She isn’t like the other women you date once or twice, then never see again. Maddie’s the type who’s in it for the long haul. She wants permanency, a future.” Rafe shook his head. “She’s had her heart ripped up twice by men she thought were interested in a future with her. After being so deeply hurt, she built up some pretty thick walls to protect herself.” He stared openly at Nick. “Apparently you’ve broken through them.”

  “Rafe, I respect Maddie very much. Please know that. I would never do anything to intentionally hurt her. We’ve only gone out twice. I really like her.” But it was probably best if he didn’t expound to her brother just how much. “I honestly want to see where this relationship will take us. But I also don’t want there to be tension between you and her.”

  What would he do if Rafe asked him to stop seeing Maddie? Could he do it? Would he do it? Just the question tightened Nick’s gut.

  Rafe let out a long breath. “There’s not. Well, not any more than between Riley and me when she started dating Hayden.” He tightened his jaw muscles. “I won’t see her hurt.”

  “I understand that. I can’t promise to never hurt her, because sometimes, I just don’t get the woman psyche, but I won’t disrespect her or treat her badly. On that, you have my word.”

  “Thanks.” Rafe visibly relaxed.

  Nick released an inward sigh. He’d thought he would have to let Rafe take a swing at him. “I hear congratulations are in order. When’s the big day?”

  “May fifteenth. It was my parents’ wedding anniversary. Remington is set on it.”

  “That’s cool. Congratulations again.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Hey, did I hear a groom in here?” Timmons stepped inside Nick’s office.

  Rafe stood and clapped Darren’s shoulder. “How are you?”

  “Good. I told Savannah Uncle Rafe would have dinner with us tonight. She’s got Kimi cooking already this morning.”

  Rafe grinned. “And how are . . . things with you and Kimi?”

  Timmons ducked his head. “Shut up, man. How many times do I have to tell you that she’s just my nanny-housekeeper?” He hand
ed Nick a folder. “As you requested, I investigated Hubble’s accuser. Seems she has a stepbrother who happens to be very protective of her. He threatened Hubble during the trial so the judge banned him from the courtroom.”

  Nick scanned the information. Conrad Sloan, thirty-eight, African American. In and out of the system on minor assault charges, petty theft, and one misdemeanor of possession. “Has Hubble received any threats since his release?”

  “No, but he’s pretty much got a media crew following his every move.”

  “Maybe Sloan’s coming after Maddie first because he holds her responsible for Hubble’s release. He might plan to go after Hubble later.”

  Rafe held up his hands. “Wait a minute. What are y’all talking about?”

  Nick closed the file and looked at Timmons. “Bring Rafe up to speed while I coordinate with Memphis PD to have Conrad Sloan brought in for questioning.”

  Timmons took Rafe from the office. Nick lifted the phone and ordered field agents to bring Sloan in. He’d let the thug cool his jets in the conference room for a while before he questioned him. If he was the man who made those calls to Maddie and broke into her house . . .

  Well, he could always turn off the interview camera and let Rafe have fifteen minutes alone with him.

  Not that he would, but it was a nice thought.

  “Sir?” The rookie whose shift should have ended stood in the doorway.

  “Yes, Agent Martin?”

  He handed Nick a paper. “I spoke with Mr. Whitlow this morning.”

  “And?” He glanced at the paper.

  “He says he can’t recall what day he spoke to Senator Ford. He says it was either Thursday or Friday, but he can’t say for certain.”

  Was everybody’s alibi like Swiss cheese?

  “Thank you, Martin.”

  “Yes, sir.” The rookie scrambled away.

  Nick leaned back in his chair and ran a hand over the stubble on his chin. He hadn’t had time to shave last night before rushing to Maddie’s, and he didn’t take the time this morning before coming into the office.

  The weight of the case heavied his chest. So many loose ends. None neat. He didn’t like it. Not at all.